Number of Chinese residents covered by basic health insurance programs 2021, by type

In 2021, more than a billion Chinese residents were covered by the urban and rural resident basic medical insurance program, while 354 million were insured via the employee basic medical insurance program.

Two programs based on employment status

The Chinese national medical security system has multiple layers, with the publicly funded basic medical insurance program now covering over 95 percent of the Chinese population, while medical aid and commercial medical insurance provide additional services.
The basic medical insurance system consists of two types of insurances. Employees and pensioners who were employed for more than 15 years before retirement are insured under the employee basic medical insurance program which is mainly funded by mandatory contributions of the employees and their employers. Citizens who are not part of the employee medical insurance program, such as children, students and many residents in rural areas are covered by the resident basic medical insurance.

Affordable insurance premiums, low reimbursement rates

Although the premiums of public medical insurance in China vary between different regions, they are generally affordable. Employees pay only around two percent of their monthly salary to the insurance fund, while their employers contribute another six percent. For non-working residents, the costs to be medically insured are even lower, depending on the regional regulations. Consequently, the reimbursement rates for publicly insured patients in China normally range between 50 to 80 percent, depending on the personal situation including many services and medications which are not covered. Out-of-pocket spending represents around a quarter of the total healthcare expenditure.